Christmas disaster fixes

In this month's issue

Taste.com.au - October 2012
Eat in, eat out, eat well. Look for the taste liftout on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph, on Wednesdays in the Adelaide Advertiser, and in Perth’s Sunday Times.

Save your festive dinner with Taste's emergency disaster repair kit.

Preparing the Christmas meal involves a lot of multi-tasking and invariably things can and will go array. Try these fast fixes:

You’ve run out of food

The guests are arriving and you’ve just realised that that you’ve suddenly got more mouths to feed. Have some extra nibbles on hand that can easily be assembled on a serving platter.

You’ve overcooked the turkey or ham

The best remedy for dry, overcooked meat is good gravy and lots of it. Or, fill a spray bottle with stock and spray the bird or roast lightly as you carve to add moisture to the surface of the meat and prevent further drying.

Your oven blows up

If you don’t have access to a barbecue or a neighbour’s oven, the best solution is jointing the bird or slicing up the roast and then frying or sautéing pieces on the stovetop. Butterflying your meat will also help it cook faster.

The bird is too big for the oven

Take off the legs and cut through the bird at the thigh. Put the legs in a roasting tin and place on the bottom shelf about 30 minutes before the rest of the bird. Calculate your cooking time based on the weight minus the legs.

You can’t fit your spuds in at the same time

Simply parboil potatoes and then roast them in a very hot oven in a roasting tray with preheated oil in it while your bird or roast is covered with foil and resting.

You’ve burnt your gravy

If the gravy is not too badly burned pouring it into a clean pan and adding a little sugar to neutralize the burnt taste can usually save it. If all is truly lost, make a quick creamy sauce instead by reducing white wine or stock then adding butter, cream and simmering until it thickens before stirring through fresh herbs and seasoning to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

You’ve dropped your dessert

A dropped or partially burnt cake can be chopped up and mixed with cream, fruit and custard to make a quick trifle; stirred in chunks through a tub of softened vanilla ice cream; or mixed up with store-bought crushed meringues and whipped cream to make a fast festive Eton mess.

Serve it all with pride and no excuses and no one need no the difference.

Expect the best, prepare for the worst

Stocking up on these ingredients in advance can help get you out of a jam:

Extra cheeses, crackers and fruit such as grapes, apples or some quince paste.

Extra meat that can be cooked fast in case of a main course disaster. Think seafood and quick-cooking cuts of meat.

Good quality pre-made gravy and stock.

Double cream, good quality vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate, frozen puff pastry, and a bag of frozen mixed berries can fix almost any dessert disaster or give you the means to make a new one fast.

Fresh herbs and spices to garnish and punch up flavour.

Vegetables and quick cooking grains such as new potatoes, green beans, a bag of mixed salad leaves, couscous and instant rice that can make a quick side to bulk out the meal should a planned dish fail.